Back in the early 80's a room mate stiffed me on a $300 phone bill. I handed him the bill, which he said he would pay and never paid it. I always assumed he did. Well about 8 years later a collection agency called my father, posing as "a friend" of mine. Dad gave them my phone number, and long story short, I ended up having to pay the bill.

Unoriginal_Username:Why the hell would you still have that? Sounds like it's something he likes to brag about and someone got tired of his bullshiatWhy not take the thing, and drop it in a bush around the corner?

Exactly what I was thinking. You don't keep shiat when you pull pranks like that.

Unoriginal_Username:Why the hell would you still have that? Sounds like it's something he likes to brag about and someone got tired of his bullshiatWhy not take the thing, and drop it in a bush around the corner?

Iknhaton:Unoriginal_Username: Why the hell would you still have that? Sounds like it's something he likes to brag about and someone got tired of his bullshiatWhy not take the thing, and drop it in a bush around the corner?

Exactly what I was thinking. You don't keep shiat when you pull pranks like that.

I thought the same thing. His problem isn't that he stole the bust twenty-five years ago, it's that he kept it. Isn't that technically an ongoing crime?

Pick:Back in the early 80's a room mate stiffed me on a $300 phone bill. I handed him the bill, which he said he would pay and never paid it. I always assumed he did. Well about 8 years later a collection agency called my father, posing as "a friend" of mine. Dad gave them my phone number, and long story short, I ended up having to pay the bill.

Well then, you were probably an idiot.

In most jurisdictions in the US, the Statute of Limitations on debt is 7 years. After that point, it can't appear on your credit report and they can't sue you for it. They can still write you asking for the money, they can still make collection calls, but they can't make you pay.

It's a little longer in some states, so I can't say for sure without knowing the state involved, but after 8 years, in most of the US, you can tell them to STFU. You send the collection agency a "Cease Communication" notice under the terms of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and that forces them to stop all collection activity aimed at you, they have to either completely give up or file suit. . .and they won't file suit if it's after that deadline, so that's the end of that.

Pick:Back in the early 80's a room mate stiffed me on a $300 phone bill. I handed him the bill, which he said he would pay and never paid it. I always assumed he did. Well about 8 years later a collection agency called my father, posing as "a friend" of mine. Dad gave them my phone number, and long story short, I ended up having to pay the bill.

It's amazing to me that so many college kids think calling theft a "prank" somehow makes it OK. Couches from dorm lounges, computers from labs--"aw, no big deal, just a prank!"

When I was in college some dumb dumb didn't lock any of the doors in one building at night, and these people came in and took like 30 LED projectors. I don't know who lost their job over that one, but back then that was cutting edge tech and they were spendy.

Can be charged, but should be charged after 25 years. fark no. Just get the bust back and who cares.

/can't be charged for any dumb shiat I did in college as enough time passed and I never had any warrants. As far as I know I dumped any of the stupid crap we stole long ago.//now days with everything ending up on youtube and facebook I'd be farked.

Being in possession of the stolen good can often cause the statute to continue indefinitely. Ironically, if he'd have pawned it, thrown it away, or returned it himself (in a more reasonable time frame) chances are he'd be free and clear.

Actually, if the incident had ended with him returning it anonymously a couple years later when he sobered up and it was later traced back to him, he wouldn't have been arrested for it decades later.

It was really the "still having the stolen piece on the mantel in your living room where visitors can see it" part that brought the hammer down on this one. I've done way worse and gotten off with an apology pretty easily, because I was usually apologizing to the cops or whoever within a couple weeks of whatever shiat I'd pulled, not after I'd been caught and enough time had passed to make it clear I'd no actual intent to make things right.

//I've been on the other end of it too, enough times to the point a friend told me that I have a signature bored tone when I say "we don't intend to press charges". It's all part of the compromise for civilization, that people have to know when to throw the book and when it's not worth it.

My roommate and I published the college underground newspaper using "borrowed" printing equipment from Student Government.They never used it, so I doubt they missed it -- it was a farking ditto machine, for those of you old enough to remember that.We thought we were so goddamn cool and secretive, but at one point my roommate was called in to the dean's office for something else (nondisciplinary, he was a cool administrator who just liked to chat sometimes), and the dean just HAPPENED to have a copy of every single issue of the underground newspaper neatly arranged on his desk. He talked to my roommate for half an hour about other stuff, and never even mentioned what was on his desk. We made a late-night visit to SG and put all the stuff back fairly soon after that.

Keeping a valuable piece of art for 25 years is moronic. Guy could have saved himself a ton of hurt by anonymously dropping it off, or "finding" it somewhere. If he'd have done it right, he could have been known as the dude who FOUND and returned the bust. What an idiot.

If he'd sold it, dumped it in the river 6 years ago, etc, he'd be off the hook. Well, legally, they'd still probably shiat-list him at the university (can't buy football tickets to his alma mater's games, explicitly banned from university property, etc. Basically the only thing he can ever get from them is transcripts, and if they're really upset they'll add a disciplinary note and cover letter to any recommendation copies, which is legal if dickish.)